| Built: |
1933-1937 |
| Cost: |
US$74,000,000.00 |
| Type: |
Bridge |
A
massive, yet majestic span over the Golden Gate Strait,
this is the structure that people in San Francisco
most identify their city with. There are several popular
myths that surround the bridge. First, it is not painted
gold. It is orange; "International Orange," specifically.
Some also believe the bridge is painted every year.
This is not true, either. It has only been painted
twice: once in 1937 and again from 1965-1995. However,
touch-up work is a constant necessity because of the
fog and salt air. There is another myth that the Golden
Gate Bridge is the biggest bridge in the world. This
was true for a few years between 1937 and 1964. When
the Verazanno Narrows Bridge was built between Brooklyn
and Staten Island in New York, it claimed that title.
Since then, even the New York span has been surpassed
by bridges in Asia and Scandinavia. The Golden Gate
Bridge has become a vital link for millions of people
as San Francisco emerged as an urban metropolis. Though
other bridges may be larger, or taller, few are more
loved, and with the exception of the Brooklyn Bridge,
no bridge in America is as famous.
- The
bridge is 1.7 miles long.
-
The bridge is 220 feet above the water.
- The
bridge weighs 887,000 tons.
- The
bridge is 746 feet tall.
- 30
people fell off the bridge during its construction.
- Workers
had to wear special hand and face cream during construction
because of the wind.
- 41,381,000
vehicles crossed the bridge during the 1997 fiscal
year.
- June,
2001 - The American Society of Civil Engineers has
named several structures "Monuments of the Millennium."
Included on the list are the Panama Canal, the Empire
State Building, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
- Following
the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks, the
Golden Gate Bridge is having a hard time buying
reasonable insurance. Before the attacks, the San
Francisco Bridge District paid US$500,000.00 a year
for $125,000,000.00 worth of coverage which included
terrorist attack. Now the district will have to
pay twice as much, but not be covered for terrorist
incidents.
- 11
August, 2002 - The bridge is placed on "super-heightened"
alert because of a credible terrorist threat. The
Contra Costa Times reports that the FBI thinks
terrorists might try to crash a plane into the span.
- 13
August, 2002 - A construction workers plummets to
his death from the bridge. He was working on a US$160,000,000.00
earthquake resistance project when he fall.
- 10
October, 2002 - The Golden Gate Bridge District
needs help with its budget deficit. KPIX-TV reports
the District has decided to collect voluntary tolls
from pedestrians and bicyclists. Right now walkers
and bikers don't have to pay to cross the bridge,
but if they want to help out, toll takers will take
their money
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Photograph courtesy of the San Francisco Convention
and Visitors Bureau |
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